The 2015-2016  Pacer season should be a rebound effort from the past season which can be called a lost year as the team never really got off the ground following the loss of Paul George to a broken leg last July.  The team that will show up on the court in Bankers Life Fieldhouse will scarcely resemble the team and style that was present last year.  Larry Bird, Pacers Team President and Indiana basketball legend, has decided that the team must take a faster pace and a smaller lineup this year.

The new NBA season will bring a new style of basketball to Indiana. With Roy Hibbert and David West gone, Pacers Coach Frank Vogel has decided to go small-ball. Small ball is where a player that would typically play the Small Forward, is moved to the Power Forward position to give the team more speed.

George Hill is capable of pushing the offense some, however he is not known as a high-powered transition guard. To take some of the pressure off of Hill and the rest of the Pacer’s offense, Indiana decided it needed more firepower in the backcourt, signing Monta Ellis to a four year, $44 million dollar contract. Ellis and Hill should form a fine guard tandem, their styles of play complement each other’s well, with Hill an excellent spot up 3-point shooter, and Ellis preferring to take the ball to the rim.

This is a shift in the style, size, and play across the NBA that emphasizes space, shooting, and speed.  Pacers fans should expect All-Star Forward Paul George to play more of the Power Forward position as a stretch-4 player.

Among the new additions, draftees Myles Turner (1st Round, 11th overall), a center out of University of Texas and Joe Young (2nd Round, 43rd overall), a combination point/shooting guard out of Oregon figure to fit into the franchise’s future plans.  Both players look to be future NBA standouts in Indiana with strong showings during the NBA Summer League.

Turner, whose 6 foot 11 inch height and 7 foot 4 inch wingspan figures to project him into a shot-blocking and three-point shooting center who has all-star potential. he will develop behind Jordan Hill this year.  Joe Young led the NBA Summer League in scoring (22.5 ppg) and looks provide a spark off the Pacers bench with a burst of scoring and energy.

The pacers season has been turbulent so far with a 3 game winning streak and a 3 game losing streak. Paul George had elite performances in a three game stretch, scoring 27, 32, and 36. Monta Ellis and George Hill have had above average seasons averaging 15.9 and 11.1 points respectively. The new uptempo offense has been met with minimal success, with the Pacers opening up the season 5-4 and fourth in the central division. The good news for the Pacers is they can only move up in the division standings. The Pacers are showing a lot of early improvement which will lead this team back to the playoffs.
Season Prediction: 3rd in Central and 6th in Eastern Conference. Lose in the 1st round of Playoffs